El Valle Meats & Groceries Market now open

Wednesday

Businesswoman Lupita De La Rosa decided to open her own Mexican grocery store to fill a gap in the community.

“I wanted to open this because there’s no other Mexican stores around,” she said.

Her business, located at 704 Story St., recently opened its doors. It offers a rotating selection of hot meals, plus non-perishable food, meats, produce and household supplies. Candles, pottery and spices can also be found in her shop.

She said the name of the business comes from her hometown in Texas.

“I used to live in Boone about 15 years ago, then moved to Des Moines. I came back to Boone in October, looking for a spot to open the store,” she noted.

De La Rosa also runs a business cleaning commercial and residential properties. Plus she remodels houses.

The cuisine is reflective of her Tex-Mex heritage.

“The way we do tamales is red chile with pork, and chicken with salsa verde. The masa (corn dough) is a green color from the flavor we give to it, plus we’ll have chicharrones (fried pork) and cheese gorditas and rice,” she said.

She didn’t always have a passion for cooking.

“I love my cleaning business, so I stayed away from the cooking,” she said with a laugh. “Every time I cook, I pray it all comes out good and has a good taste so my customers like it.”

Her friend Mistie Casiano helps promote the business on social media and spends some time helping out at the store. However, De La Rosa is a sole proprietor with daughter Julissa Salinas providing assistance.

“By the end of this month, we’ll be having the meat department set up and produce,” De La Rosa said. “We’ll have some vegetables Salvadorans like to cook with.”

She also offers an array of baked goods including sugar cookies, donuts and pastries. Pastries are filled with cheese or fruit. Conchas, a traditional sweet bread roll, consist of two parts: the roll and a crumbly cookie dough topping. Her authentic Mexican Bolillo bread rolls come stuffed with cream cheese, jalapenos and ham.

“(Bolillo) are so good,” she said. “I think it’s yummier than a torta.”

The hot food items are carry-out only for now, with the eventual goal of putting two to three little tables out front for people to dine-in.

De La Rosa also plans to make pozole and menudo (traditional soups) and candy apples, crafted with chili powder and chamoy, with gummy bears.

She offers delivery of anything in the store by contacting her via Facebook: El Valle Meat and Groceries Market-Boone, IA. Check the page regularly to learn what she will be making and selling each day. If shoppers are looking for anything in particular, just let her know and she can place an order.

Hours are Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday/Saturday/Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.